Angelina Ballerina™
Angelina Ballerina is a little star with big dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. This feisty little mouse works hard to reach her goal and along the way, always learns from her mistakes. When little girls share in Angelina's experiences, they're inspired to go after their big dreams too. In addition to the critically acclaimed story books created by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina dances her way into the hearts of young girls weekly on PBS KIDS®.
Angelina Ballerina™ Takes Center Stage as She Celebrates 25 Years in Publishing
Author Katharine Holabird and Illustrator Helen Craig will Embark on a National Book Tour to Commemorate Angelina's Silver Anniversary!
02/07/2008New York, NY
This year, Angelina Ballerina will take center stage as she celebrates 25 years of whirling, twirling, pirouettes, and plies in publishing. To commemorate this silver anniversary, author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig will embark on a national tour visiting book stores to meet their fans and sign copies of their popular children's book series. There will be Angelina Ballerina-themed activities at each stop, including coloring sheets, activity kits, and raffles for Angelina DVDs.
In addition, Ms. Holabird and Ms. Craig will be making a stop at a local Children's Miracle Network Hospital on their tour, to enjoy story time with the patients and present the hospitals with an Angelina Ballerina video and book library.
Angelina Ballerina launched in publishing in 1983 with the title, Angelina Ballerina . Since then, the Angelina book series has grown to include more than 60 titles in 18 languages, entertaining and inspiring budding ballerinas around the world.
In the US, the Angelina Ballerina books are published by three imprints from Penguin Young Readers Group in formats which include hardcover from Viking, picture book reprints from Puffin, and mass merchandise from Grosset & Dunlap. In celebration of the 25th anniversary, Viking will publish a 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition which will be out in fall 2008. The special commemorative jacket is sure to catch the eye of Angelina fans.
About Katharine Holabird
Katharine Holabird began writing children's books in 1982, and published Angelina Ballerina with illustrator Helen Craig in 1983. This great partnership has since produced over ten books in the Angelina Ballerina series that related to childhood themes such as friendship, loyalty, and dedication. The Angelina Ballerina books have won a collection of awards, including the Kentucky Bluegrass Award; a category award at the British Book Design and Production Exhibition; and a Child Study Association's Children's Book of the Year. The Angelina Ballerina series has sold more than 5 million books in the United States.
About Helen Craig
Helen Craig is the co-creator of the popular Angelina Ballerina books with author Katharine Holabird. The first book Helen illustrated was Wishing Gold by Robert Nye (1970.) Helen's first book as author and artist was A Number of Mice (1978.) Helen to date has worked on over 60 children's books and received several prestigious awards, including the Kentucky Bluegrass Award; a category award at the British Book Design and Production Exhibition; and a Child Study Association's Children's Book of the Year.
About Angelina Ballerina™
Angelina Ballerina is a little star with big dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. This feisty little mouse works hard to reach her goal and along the way, always learns from her mistakes. When little girls share in Angelina’s experiences, they’re inspired to go after their big dreams too. In addition to the critically acclaimed story books created by Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina dances her way into the hearts of young girls weekly on PBS KIDS®. For more information about Angelina Ballerina, please visit www.angelinaballerina.com.
About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners since June 2005, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes internationally renowned children’s properties, such as Bob the Builder™, Barney™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Rubbadubbers™ and Angelina Ballerina™. HIT acts as a representative for The Wiggles® in the UK, US and Canada and as worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands, including Fraggle Rock™. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property and Fireman Sam™, a joint venture with S4C. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalog of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS Sprout℠, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.
